Our print publications are advertiser supported. For those wishing to access our content online, we have implemented a small charge so we may continue to provide our valued readers and community with unique, high quality local content. Thank you for supporting your local newspaper.

Playhouse gets personal in 2019 season

Recommended activities for the coming week

A new year means exciting new opportunities, and Golden’s Miners Alley Playhouse is embracing new possibilities with its 2019 season.

“I am always looking for great plays that are helmed by great directors. I believe that has been our formula for success at Miners Alley,” said artistic director Len Matheo.

The season begins at Miners, 1224 Washington Ave., with a pair of Pulitzer winners: “Lost in Yonkers,” written by the legendary Neil Simon, and Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” Tony award-winner and modern musical classic “Once” will be coming to the stage in the fall.

Miners Alley will also be tackling contemporary society in a pair of premieres.

The latest from Josh Hartwell, a favorite figure in the metro area’s theatrical scene, is making its world premiere at Miners. “Queen of Conspiracy” tells the story of Mae Brussell, a conspiracy theorist and radio host during the 1960s and 1970s. The play examines the influence of conspiracy-theory culture on modern America.

Eric Coble’s “Fairfield” will make its regional premiere at the theater, and centers on Fairfield Elementary, a public school located in a diverse, liberal district. But when a young teacher’s misguided attempts at celebrating Black History Month take a hilariously dark turn, chaos erupts.

And as is tradition, the season closes with Miners Alley’s hilarious adaptation of “A Christmas Carol.”

“The 2018 season was our most celebrated season and we won more awards this past year than ever before,” Matheo said. “We expect 2019 to do just as well, if not better. We are on a roll, and it’s only going to get more exciting.”

Sometimes people forget how integral the blues are to nearly every American genre of music. Jazz, pop, rock, soul and hip-hop can all be traced back to this crucial form. Musicians today are still pulling from the blues, but few are keeping its spirit alive like Colorado-raised Otis Taylor.

A multi-talented musician skilled at guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and singing, Taylor has been recognized by Down Beat magazine, the Blues Music Awards and Premier Guitar magazine for his work over the years. And he’ll be kicking off 2019 by performing at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Dazzle, 1512 Curtis St. in Denver.

There is just something special about typewriters. These machines have retained an air of romance, despite going out of regular use decades ago. People make documentaries and write books about them, and devoted fans still use them whenever they can.

Typewriters also inspire artists, as the latest Stories on Stage collaboration with the Buntport Theater Company exhibits. “A Typewriter Revolution” will be hosted at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive in Denver.

The show features members of Buntport Theater challenging our digital world with poems and stories written on, for and about the typewriter. Some of the pieces are written by members of the Denver metro area who entered their work in a selection process, and the results are both funny and thought-provoking.

Denver has a long-running history with jazz, going back to the 1920s and 1930s when Five Points was known as the “Harlem of the West.” These days the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra is one of the premier groups keeping the music alive in the metro area, thanks to the dedication of passionate musicians and audiences.

The CJRO will be heading to the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., for a tribute to the music of the Count Basie Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19.

Basie’s orchestra was one of the most popular jazz groups of the swing era, and the CJRO will perform some of the group’s classics, like “One O’clock Jump,” “Splanky,” and “Flight of the Foo Birds.” Local favorite Robert Johnson will join the band for some vocal selections.

The following are results from state Legislature, county and municipal races, and ballot issues from the Nov. 6 election. Results for county and municipal offices and ballot questions were updated shortly after midnight on Nov. 7. For state Senate and state House, results were updated Nov. 8.